Headlines

The on-again, off-again plan to redevelop the vintage Lamar Plaza shopping center is apparently back on again, as Greystar Real Estate Partners aims to move forward on its blueprint for new apartments, shops, and restaurants. Greystar has said it hopes the Alamo Drafthouse and the HighBall will remain as anchor tenants. Some of the iconic shopping strip's other longtime tenants, such as Ray Hennig's Heart of Texas Music, are holding moving sales, while others have already left. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

› Having finally settled on a bond package – $385 million and no property tax increase – City Council is knee-deep in budget presentations, both in work sessions and today's (Thurs­day) regular meeting, when you can add your own two cents on budget priorities and more. See "Council: Of Money and Weirdness."

› Austin ISD trustees may be losing their nerve on turning Pearce and Garcia Middle Schools into single-sex academies. Trustee Cheryl Brad­ley had asked the board to approve the plan in September, but her fellow trustees have pushed the decision back to December – after the next election. See "AISD Board Candidates Cluster­ing."

› Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson asked Attorney General Greg Abbott whether Comp­trol­ler Susan Combs overstepped her authority by accepting Formula One's Major Events Trust Fund application. Abbott deferred on issuing a definitive ruling.

› Four people were injured early Sunday morning after 18-year-old Soloman Onwukaife opened fire outside a Cedar Park Walmart. The shooter reportedly went to the parking lot expecting a fight that had started earlier that night.

› The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas can ban Planned Parenthood clinics from taking part in the state Women's Health Program because even the name "Planned Parenthood" promotes abortion and thus can be regulated as "speech." See Newsdesk, Aug. 22.

› Republicans for Planned Parenthood this week sought to have the GOP platform include support for access to women's health services. With the GOP now represented by lawmakers like Mis­souri Rep. Todd Akin – who told a TV reporter that if it's a "legitimate" rape, "the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down" – it seems unlikely.

› David Lee Wiggins, who spent more than 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Fort Worth, this week was cleared by DNA testing. Innocence Project lawyers have moved to formally exonerate him.

› The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has indefinitely stayed the much-anticipated court martial of Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who opened fire at Ft. Hood in 2009, killing 13 and wounding 29. The court must decide whether Hasan can be forced to shave his beard: Army rules don't allow facial hair, but Hasan reportedly says the beard is an expression of his Muslim faith.

› Federal district Judge Sam Sparks has thrown out a lawsuit brought by cyclist Lance Arm­strong against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, ruling that Armstrong's due process rights have not been violated because he still has the right to arbitrate the agency's case against him.

› Conservative bill-writing machine the American Legislative Exchange Council is losing more ground in Texas as another 12 lawmakers – both Republicans and Democrats – renounced their membership.